Shoelace retaining apparatus

ABSTRACT

A shoelace knot retaining apparatus comprises an upper tab member, a lower tongue member and a fold for enabling the upper tab member and the lower tongue member to fold away from each other to dispose only one of the upper tab member and the lower tongue member to engage the shoelace knot. Further, the fold enables both of the upper tab member and the lower tongue member to engage the shoelace knot, whereby the upper tab member and the lower tongue member are disposed in a shoelace knot securing position to prevent the shoelace knot from untying. In particular, one of the upper tab member and the lower tongue member has at least one first opening of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the shoelace to thereby limit the movement of the shoelace with respect to the one opening. The other of the upper tab member and the lower tongue member has at least one second opening. Each of the one first opening and the one second opening has respectively a first extremity and a second extremity. The first extremity and the second extremity are being disposed with respect to each other so that when the upper tab member and the lower tongue member are disposed in the shoelace securing position, the first extremity intersects the second extremity and the one member blocks at least a part of the second opening whereby the first and second extremities grip the show lace therebetween to prevent the shoelace from being withdrawn from the shoelace retaining member.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application relates to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/677170and is incorporated by reference into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an apparatus for securing shoelaceknots. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved shoelaceknot retaining device which prevents shoelaces from becoming untied.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Various types of devices have been used to prevent shoelaces frombecoming untied, including flexible ties that wrap around a shoelaceknot, substantially rigid devices that are either laced and tied to theknot or that enclose and clamp the knot, and modifications to the shoesthemselves, but these devices have suffered from inefficiency andinadequacy in terms of their ease of use, simplicity, cost tomanufacture and ability to securely retain the shoelace knot.

An improved shoelace retaining apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No.4,949,437 of Anderson, which discloses a shoelace knot retaining device10′ adapted to secure a shoelace knot 6 securely in place. The device10′ includes a rigid tab member 12 in which is formed a slot 22′ throughwhich an elastic band 14′ is passed, and a distal grip 16 for attachingthe end portions of the elastic band 14′ together. The tab 12′ alsoincludes a slot 20′ through which a portion of a shoelace knot may bepulled, thereby securing the knot.

The prior art device has shown improved efficiency and ease of use, hasa simple design and permits greater freedom of movement while securelyretaining a lace knot. In the prior art device 10′, the shoelace knot ismaintained by the clamping force developed by the band 14′ and exertedagainst the knot between the elastic band 14′ and the rigid tab member12′. However, the effectiveness of such device is limited by theintegrity of the elastic band 14′, wear and tear on the rigid tab member12′, and the maintenance of the clamping force on the knot as long asthe knot is positioned between the elastic band 14′ and the rigid tabmember 12′.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide an improvedapparatus to prevent a shoelace knot from becoming untied.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a shoelaceknot retaining device that has the advantages of efficiency, ease ofuse, and simplicity as the prior art device, and that providesstructural features for more securely retaining a shoelace knot withoutadding complexity or further structures.

In accordance with these and other objects of the invention, there isdisclosed an improved shoelace knot retaining apparatus. In anillustrative embodiment, the knot retaining apparatus comprises an uppertab member, a lower tongue member and a fold for enabling the upper tabmember and the lower tongue member to fold away from each other todispose only one of the upper tab member and the lower tongue member toengage the shoelace knot. Further, the fold enables both of the uppertab member and the lower tongue member to engage the shoelace knot,whereby the upper tab member and the lower tongue member are disposed ina shoelace knot securing position to prevent the shoelace knot fromuntying. In particular, one of the upper tab member and the lower tonguemember has at least one first opening of a diameter substantially equalto the diameter of the shoelace to thereby limit the movement of theshoelace with respect to the one opening. The other of the upper tabmember and the lower tongue member has at least one second opening. Eachof the one first opening and the one second opening has respectively afirst extremity and a second extremity. The first extremity and thesecond extremity are being disposed with respect to each other so thatwhen the upper tab member and the lower tongue member are disposed inthe shoelace securing position, the first extremity intersects thesecond extremity and the one member blocks at least a part of the secondopening whereby the first and second extremities grip the show lacetherebetween to prevent the shoelace from being withdrawn from theshoelace retaining member.

In a further aspect of this invention, the upper tab member comprises atab portion, and the lower tongue member comprises a clip for receivingthe tab portion to secure the upper tab member and the lower tonguemember in the shoelace knot securing position.

In a further aspect of this invention, at least one of the upper tabmember and the lower tongue member is made of a flexible material toenable the tab portion to engage and to disengage the clip.

In a still further aspect of this invention, the lace slot is disposedin the one member adjacent to the one first opening to receive theshoelace knot.

In particular, the hook is supported by a portion to be aligned with theone first opening, and there is further included another first opening,whereby the one and the other first openings are disposed on either sideof the shoe lace slot.

These features of the present invention will be described in furtherdetail below, in connection with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of the shoelace knot retaining deviceof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective bottom view of the shoelace knot retainingdevice of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the shoelace knot retaining deviceof FIG. 1, shown in a closed or folded position; and

FIG. 4 is a top view of the folded shoelace knot retaining device shownin its closed position in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of the folded shoelace knot retaining device ofFIG. 1 showing a tied knot in use on a shoe.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, there isshown a perspective top view of a shoelace knot retaining device 10 inaccordance with the present invention. The knot retaining device 10 isadapted to secure a shoelace knot in place so that the knot cannot beeasily or accidentally untied.

The shoelace knot retaining device 10 comprises an elongated piece ofrigid material made illustratively of plastic, such as polypropylene,and having a width-wise fold 22 separating an upper tab member 12 and alower tongue member 14. When used in accordance with the principles ofthe present invention, the device 10 is folded along fold 22 so that theupper tab member 12 is folded over the lower tongue member 14 and a knotis securely maintained therein, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and moreparticularly described below.

Referring to FIG. 1, the upper tab member 12 includes a bow slot 20 cutentirely therethrough to allow the bows of a shoelace knot to be pulledthrough the tab member 12, thereby retaining the knot more securely.Through the bow slot 20 is cut in a diamond shape to help position theknot centrally with respect to the tab member 12, it is within thecontemplation of the invention that other shapes may be used for theslot 20. The upper tab member 12 also includes a tab portion 13 that isused to secure the upper member 12 to the lower member 14 when thedevice is in use.

The lower tongue member 14 of the device 10 is also shown in FIG. 1. Asshown, a knot slot 18 is formed in approximately the center of themember 14 so that when the device is folded, the bow slot 20 of theupper tab member 12 substantially overlaps the knot slot 18. The knotslot 18 has a semi-circular shape, but may be formed in other shapes aswell. The lower tongue member 14 additionally includes at least one laceslot 24. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two laceslots 24 are formed as holes cut entirely through the lower tonguemember 14 on opposing sides of the knot slot 18 and are smaller in sizerelative thereto, but large enough to accommodate a shoelace to bepassed therethough. The lace slots 24 may be circular in shape, asshown, or may extend from the sides of the lower tongue member 14 towardthe knot slot 18, so that the laces do not have to be threaded throughthe lace slots 24 but rather can just be slid therein.

The lower tongue member 14 also includes a clip 16 at a distal endthereof, as shown in FIG. 1, for receiving the tab portion 13 of theupper tab member 12 when the device 10 is folded and in use, as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. In the illustrative embodiment, clip 16 is asubstantially U-shaped element and is joined at its terminal ends to thelower tongue member 14. The clip 16 may be made of plastic or otherrigid, lightweight material and can be formed integrally with the lowertongue member 14, or may be formed separately and attached by suitablemeans for attachment, such as glue.

Turning to FIG. 2, a hook 26 is provided on the bottom of the lowertongue member 14 for attachment to the shoelaces on the shoe, to preventthe device 10 from loss when it is not in use. In the illustrativeembodiment, the hook 26 comprises a first section 26 a extending outwardfrom the bottom surface of the lower tongue member 14, and a secondsection 26 b that is substantially parallel to the lower tongue member14 and extends toward the distal end thererof. As can be seen in FIGS.1, 2 and 4, the second portion 26 b of the hook 26 has approximately thesame semi-circular shape as the knot slot 18. Like the clip 16, the hook26 may be made of plastic or other rigid lightweight material and can beformed integrally with the lower tongue member 14, or formed separatelyand attached by suitable means for attachment such as glue.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the device 10 is folded along fold 22,the tab portion 13 of the upper tab member 12 is secured by the clip 16in the lower tongue member 14. Bow slot 20 in one embodiment of thisinvention overlaps knot slot 18 and, when the lace is pulled through thebow slot 20, both ends of the lace are secured to the device 10. Asshown in FIG. 4 when the device 10 is in a folded position, the laceslots 24 formed in the lower tongue member 14 are substantially coveredby the upper tab member 12 and are disposed adjacent to the edge of thebow slot 20 to form a pair of restricted areas 25. In the illustrativeembodiment, the bow slot 20 is diamond or square-shaped, and includes afirst set of sides 31 a and b that intersect each other to form a corner27 a and a second set of side 29 a and b that intersect each other toform a corner 27 b. In an illustrative embodiment of this invention asshown in FIG. 4, the comers 27 a and b of the bow slot 20 expose aportion of the lace slots 24 when the members 12 and 14 are in theirfolded position. Accordingly, both ends of the shoelace, which is passedthrough the lace slots 24 and is tied to form a knot, is clamped by therestricted areas 25. When the members 12 and 14 are placed in theirfolded state and the tab portion 13 is locked by the hook 16, sides 31 aand b and the inner periphery of the lace slots 24 exert a clampingpressure against the lace threaded through the lace slots 24, wherebythe lace is positioned by the action of the sides 31 a and b into thecomers 27 a and b and, thus, the ends of the lace are securely clampedto the device 10. Thus the device 10 clamps thereto the opposite ends ofthe lace whereby the bow will not be loosened and/or come untied. Theclamping of the laces by the present invention retains the laces and theshoelace knot formed thereby much more securely than devices in theprior art. In a further aspect of this invention, the largest dimensionof the restricted areas 25 is less than that the diameter of the lace,whereby the lace is securely held within the area 25. In a furtherembodiment of this invention, the slots 24 may be so spaced from eachother and positioned so as to be completely (as well as partially)hidden by the upper tab member 12 without lessening the clamping actionof the device 10 on the lace as described above.

FIG. 5 shows the device 10 in use in the closed or folded position. Ascan be seen, the compression of the upper tab member 12 against thelower tongue member 14 securely holds a knot that is formed in theshoelaces. The bow formed by the knot has been passed through the bowslot 20. The compression of the upper tab member 12 against the lowertongue member 14 also secures the shoelaces that are passed through thelace slots 24 in the lower tongue member 14, by clamping the laces asthey pass from the lace slots 24 to form the restricted areas 25 atcorners 27 a and b of the bow slot 20 formed in the upper tab member 12.

In all cases it is understood that the above-described arrangement ismerely illustrative of the many possible illustrative embodiments whichrepresent applications of the present invention. Numerous and variedother embodiments can be readily devised in accordance with theprinciples of the present invention without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

1. A device for retaining a knot of a shoelace, said shoelace retainingdevice comprising: a) an upper tab member; b) a lower tongue member; c)a fold for enabling said upper tab member and said lower tongue memberto fold away from each other to dispose only one of said upper tabmember and said lower tongue member to engage the shoelace, and forenabling both of said upper tab member and said lower tongue member toengage the shoelace knot, whereby said upper tab member and said lowertongue member are disposed in shoelace knot securing position to preventthe shoelace knot from untying; d) one of said upper tab member and saidlower tongue member having at least one first opening of a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of the shoelace to thereby limit themovement of the shoelace with respect to the one opening; and e) theother of said upper tab member and said lower tongue member having atleast one second opening; f) each of said one first opening and said onesecond opening having respectively a first extremity and a secondextremity, said first extremity and said second extremity being disposedwith respect to each other so that when said upper tab member and saidlower tongue member are disposed in said shoelace securing position,said first extremity intersects said second extremity and said onemember blocks at least a part of said second opening whereby said firstand second extremities grip the shoelace therebetween to prevent theshoelace from being withdrawn from said shoelace retaining member. 2.The shoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 1, wherein there isfurther comprised means for retaining said upper tab member and saidlower tongue member in their shoelace knot securing position.
 3. Theshoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 1, wherein said upper tabmember comprises a tab portion, and said lower tongue member comprises aclip for receiving said tab portion to secure said upper tab member andsaid lower tongue member in said shoelace knot securing position.
 4. Theshoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of saidupper tab member and said lower tongue member comprises a proximal and adistal end, said fold interconnecting said proximal end of said uppertab member to said proximal end of said lower tongue member, said tabportion being affixed to said distal end of said upper tab member; andsaid clip being affixed to said distal end of said lower tongue member.5. The shoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 4, wherein at leastone of said upper tab member and said lower tongue member is made of aflexible material to enable said tab portion to engage and to disengagesaid clip.
 6. The shoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 1,wherein there is comprised a lace slot disposed in said one memberadjacent to said one first opening to receive the shoelace knot.
 7. Theshoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 6, wherein there is afurther comprised hook, which is supported by a portion to be alignedwith said one first opening.
 8. The shoelace retaining member as claimedin claim 7, wherein there is further included another first opening,said one and said other first openings being disposed on either side ofsaid lace slot.
 9. The shoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 8,wherein said second opening is of a diamond configuration, said diamondconfiguration comprising said first extremity, a third extremity, afourth extremity and a fifth extremity, said first and third extremitiesintersecting each other to define a first corner, and said fourthextremity and said fifth extremity intersecting each other to define asecond corner.
 10. The shoelace retaining member as claimed in claim 9,wherein said first corner is aligned with said one opening and saidsecond corner is aligned with said other opening, when said upper tabmember and said lower tongue member are disposed in their shoelace knotsecuring position.